UBD 37th in Top 50 Under 50 Ranking

ADDING another feather to its cap, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) achieved a prime spot in a ranking exercise by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

It is another first for Brunei’s prestigious academic institution which is now 37th globally in the QS ranking for universities founded less than 50 years ago.

UBD had recently broken into the QS World University Rankings for the first time, attaining a creditable 349th rank.

The QS Top 50 Under 50 is published annually, based on the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings, which assesses universities’ performance across six indicators including academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per faculty member, faculty/student ratio, proportion of international students and proportion of international faculty members.

First published in 2012, the QS Top 50 Under 50 allows some of the world’s fastest rising young universities to shine, rewarding those which have established themselves in research and teaching excellence in a short space of time.

Only three member countries in Asean – Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Malaysia – have universities which have managed to break into the QS Top 50 Under 50.

According to the QS Top 50 Under 50, UBD is 6th in Asean and 16th in Asia among universities under the age of 50 years.

With over 26,000 universities in the world, QS World University Rankings recently placed UBD among the top 1.3 per cent of universities worldwide.

UBD is one of only 13 universities from Southeast Asia to be ranked in the top 400 in the world.

It is a breakthrough achievement for the 32-year-old university, which made headlines the first year it participated in the QS Asia university rankings in 2014.

UBD became one of the fastest rising universities in 2015 when it leaped 57 places to an overall ranking of 118 in the region.

Prior to 2014, UBD was unranked in the leading university rankings exercises.

The QS World University Rankings compares the leading universities around the world.

The ranking assesses university performance across four areas – research, teaching, employability, and internationalisation.

It is regarded as one of the most influential and reliable university rankings in the world.

Among the indicators, UBD performed particularly well in international faculty, coming in at 47th in the world; faculty-student ratio, at 69th in the world; and international students, ranked at 210.

DESPITE first making its appearance in the Sultanate during the 1940s, Kuih Mor continues to be a household favourite today as a tea time snack or festive treat particularly during Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

Siti Norhafizah Hj Bagol, a final year student at Universiti Brunei Darussalam who researched on Kuih Mor as part of her Brunei Traditional Industry module, said the three-ingredient sweet treat may have existed in Brunei as early as the 1940s when padi was known to have been grown to make different food items.

Over time, the cookie has also become a popular door-gift choice often handed out at Malay weddings or gatherings, said Siti Norhafizah.

Made with flour, oil and granulated sugar which have been ground into a powder, the bite-sized biscuits have a crumbly texture and are coated with powdered sugar.

The age-old technique of making Kuih Mor by hand has however changed over the course of time, with many now opt…

BY COMMAND of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Prime Minister’s Office hereby announces that His Majesty has consented to the transfer and appointment of the following senior officers – Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid, Permanent Secretary (Law and Welfare) at the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau and Solicitor General has been transferred to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; and Datin Elinda binti Haji CA Mohamed, Special Senior Duties Officer, Ministry of Home Affairs has been appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office and Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau.